Sad & Sick? Your Mental Health Toolkit for Chronic Illness
Living with chronic illness can feel like swimming against the stream: you put all your energy and effort into moving towards your goals, and yet, it’s a struggle to make any sustainable progress.
Some days, you can barely keep your head above water, before you’re hit by the next wave. New symptoms pop up or well-known ones worsen. The smallest things – a few nights of poor sleep, eating too much sugar, tiring events – can throw you off course.
You try to hang onto every buoy you see, from the latest diet and detox trend to natural remedies that stood the test of time. But sometimes the pull of the water is too strong.
When you’re adrift in a sea of sickness, you can swim against the stream or literally go with the flow. There’s no right or wrong choice, it all depends on the situation. Sometimes, working against the tide might cause you to drown from exhaustion, while other times you just need that extra push to reach the shore. In the end, all that matters is that you stay afloat.
Sadly, when you have diabetes, kidney disease or POTS, no one else can do the swimming for you. You’re the one that has to live in and with your body, and all the symptoms, emotions and limitations that come with it. But like the ocean, life with chronic illness goes up and down. Even the roughest sea will calm down, and even the biggest waves eventually take you to the beach. You just got to keep your eyes on the horizon.
Take a look at these 12 sea-inspired quotes to help you stay afloat when you’re swimming against the stream.
Does living with chronic illness feel like swimming against the stream to you? What helps you to stay afloat in the sea of sickness?
Read more at ‘Sink or Swim: How to Stay Afloat When You’re Adrift in a Sea of Sickness’ or check out this flare-up survival guide to best deal with (an increase of) your symptoms.
